Among the churches no less of a tumult raged. Rev. Rush preached a stirring sermon about the evil days in which even the very elect should be deceived by the miracles of anti-Christ, and warned his hearers against being beguiled.

Rev. Long openly denounced Christian Healing as but another form of spiritualism, and admonished his flock to beware of ravening wolves.

Rev. Morton mildly preached about being steadfast to the old faith, avoiding investigation in anything new, while from the gentle, spiritually minded Prof. Mill was heard an eloquent disquisition on the promises and the all-abiding power of God.

All shades and phases of ministerial sentiments were expressed, and whatever was grand and Christ-like sprang up as dainty, fragrant blossoms amid the wayside weeds of falsity and Pharisaical bigotry.

The ladies' sewing societies discussed the subject to its fullest extent with widely varying opinions, some exclaiming with wonder and awe that it certainly must be a higher power that would perform such miracles; others that it was nothing but mesmerism. A few reverently expressed their conviction that Mrs. Hayden was extremely fortunate to be chosen for such a favor, while still others of quite a contrary mind declared it was nothing more nor less than the devil, who was stealthily taking possession of the weak.

One timid little woman ventured to say that it could not be Satan, for he was never known to do anything good. Another said there must be something uncanny about it, for she had experienced the most peculiar sensations when shaking hands with Mrs. Hayden.

Mrs. Dyke had waited for a more practical time to give her opinion, and now she concluded the whole matter for herself, at least, by saying in a most practical way:

"It is the devil's work from first to last, and I am not surprised that that woman, Mrs. Hayden, has got into his clutches, for she never did her duty to the church, and such people can't expect he will always let them go their own way. Christian Healing has no right to its name or its pretentions. It is only the magician's rod, and I, for one, don't propose to look at it," with which profound announcement she went to the other room to oversee her charge of sewing girls.

"Oh, how righteous we are!" giggled one very young lady, with a mock look of reverence.

"Well, now, see here ladies!" declared Mrs. Grant, another "practical" woman, but of a different type from Mrs. Dyke, "we may as well look at this matter in a sensible and candid light. Here are the facts: Mrs. Hayden is a lovely and reliable woman. She has, as we all know, suffered everything from her headaches and dyspepsia, besides the limb that was broken at the fire. We see her well, and ought to believe what she says. They often say, 'Truth is stranger than fiction.' An example has come to our door, and why should we refuse to believe, when the proof is so plain? For my part, I can believe though I do not understand, and I want to know what there is in Christian Healing."

Mrs. Grant had spoken, and as she usually did, turned the tide of thought in her direction.

"Why, yes, we all want to know if there is anything in it, but there is an if—"

"If! There it is again! I've no patience with people who always tumble over an if. You can bar the very gates of heaven with that nipping little word. It means doubt, and doubt is the destroyer of faith which we must have in this world, if we live at all."

Mrs. Grant unwittingly preached a little sermon, which not only served to quell the confusion, but gave them a helpful thought to carry home. Scattering good seed seemed to be her mission, and many a good word dropped into fruitful soil, and took its time to bring forth.



CHAPTER IX.

"Soul, receive into thyself the warm and radiant life of heaven, to breathe it out again as spiritual fragrance over other lives, and so change this wilderness-world into the garden of the Lord! This is the lovely moral which hides within the roses of June, and makes more than half their sweetness."—Lucy Larcom.

And Mrs. Hayden? The old expressions of joy seemed utterly inadequate to describe her feelings. It seemed that she was veritably dreaming of heaven, such a sense of largeness, of freedom, had come over her, so much wider was her horizon, so much more clearly could she see and understand the hard questions that had always puzzled her, and yet she had, as it were, just come to the edge of the beautiful flower-dotted, dew-besprinkled field that seemed spreading out before her. So long hopeless, so long hungry as she had been after this taste, she only hungered the more. Wonderingly she looked at herself walking about without pain; with an elastic step and the springing freshness of health; wonderingly she remembered the dull, nervous throbbing headaches, contrasted with the refreshing clearness, the joyous comfort and peace of mind which made thinking a tonic, and labor a luxury.

What a glorious strength of exhiliration seemed flowing in to her with every breath; how it expanded and thrilled her with its power! If this was life, what joy to live, to know and feel the gladness and beauty of God's beautiful world, and it must not be for her alone, but for all hungering, thirsting mankind. She must impart it to those who had been suffering and helpless like herself. It was even now flowing into her own family. Although Miss Greening had given her but the first and fundamental principles of the method, she had in many instances already demonstrated their worth and power. It soon grew to be a regular matter of course to treat every one in the family who seemed in need of a remedy for anything.

Mr. Hayden had frequently come home with neuralgia in his face, but after one or two attacks the unwelcome intruder vanished. The family medicine case, which had recently been replenished for the winter, was left to its own devices, and dust gathered on the necks and shoulders of the cough remedies, paregoric and hive syrup bottles, until they would have looked quite pitiful in their desertion, if anybody had seen them. Jamie's one attack of croup yielded more readily to his mother's silent treatments than it ever had to hive syrup, and it was with a deep thankfulness, not unmixed with awe, that Mr. and Mrs. Hayden felt their little one at last free from his old, dreaded enemy. Never before had the children been so free from colds or ailments common to childhood, as this winter. Never before had there been such a seemingly reckless carelessness in wrapping them up, keeping them out of the draughts, or letting them eat just what was on the table.

"Why, it is like living in another world altogether," said Mr. Hayden, enthusiastically to one of the neighbors. "The children are so much happier, quieter, more peaceable. I tell you, it is like getting free from prison to come into this way of living, and my wife is getting stronger all the time. Of course you want it," he continued. "Come over some time, and we'll tell you more about it." Saying good night he walked away, leaving his friend to wonder if the entire family had not turned lunatics.

Enwrapped in the seamless robe of Truth, the sharp winds of worldly criticism seldom reach us, because we are no longer susceptible to their sharpness. A gentle mildness beams from every face, for beyond the veil of outward appearances we learn to discern the pure, perfect holiness of God's child—the divinity behind the bars. Not, however, till we know how to put on this wondrous robe are we invulnerable.

Although Mrs. Hayden had learned much and lived much in these last few months, there came a time, as the summer drew near, when it seemed that everything was slipping away from her. Not her health, except that her old headache occasionally threatened her, but things did not seem as clear to her. Many problems were only in a partial state of solution, and a vague dissatisfaction, a helpless discouragement took possession of her at times, very hard to bear, especially when contrasted with the light she felt had so long guided her. Of late even her treatments seemed almost fruitless. Her old-time impatience had manifested itself on several occasions, and one warm June morning she went about her work in a decidedly old-fashioned mood.

It was Monday, and in addition to the washing to be seen to, the little extra help to be rendered the girl, her husband had sent her a large case of strawberries to be put up, manlike, forgetting that this day at least was full. She was hastening to get them ready before the dinner hour, and the "picking up" of the sitting-room, so essential Monday mornings, had been left till a more convenient season.

Mabel had gone to school, while Jamie and Fred were playing in the sand in the back yard.

With her hands in the berries, and her thoughts busily engaged, she was suddenly roused from her reverie by the noisy entrance of Fred, who just came in for a drink of water. As he turned to go out, he threw his arms around his mother's neck and gave her a boy's impetuous hug, and a kiss that ought to have rejoiced any mother's heart, but this morning it annoyed her. "Run away, now; mamma hasn't time this morning," and she pushed him impatiently away. Just then the door bell rang, and Fred sprang to answer it. In another moment he ushered into her presence a shabbily dressed, poor, miserable looking woman, who immediately asked for a drink of water. "I can get it," said the ready Fred. While he was gone, the woman began her request:

"Plaze, Ma'am, would you be wantin' some garters to-day? They are warranted by the very man as made 'em. My boy is layin' sick, and his father is dead, and all my health has been took away carin' for him, and a friend of mine, she has been in this business a long time, and says it's very good some days, and she let me take her place to-day, so if you could take a pair or two to-day it would be very thankful I'd be, and I'm sure this boy would need a pair; they are only 25 cents, and will just fit; ain't they nice, my boy?" She poured her story out, as though there were no end to it, as she held up some brilliant red and blue elastics that quite dazzled Fred, who claimed them at once.

"I have not time to examine and choose this morning, and Fred, you do not need them now," said Mrs. Hayden, with some annoyance in her tone.

"Now, mamma, you didn't see my old ones, they ain't red and blue, nor stretchy, an' my stockin's come down all the time. See how wrinkly they are," and he held up a dusty little shoe with a sadly demoralized stocking above it, rich in holes as well as wrinkles. The stocking had been torn on a nail, he volubly explained. In his excitement Fred raised his voice, thus summoning Jamie to the scene with a rush that upset the dish of berries just picked over.

"I didn't mean to, and I can pick them up again," and he swept his dirty little hands into the soft mushy pile, gathering berries, dust, stems or whatever happened to be in the way, dashing the miscellaneous mess into the clean berries that had escaped.

"Jamie, you careless child! how can you be so naughty? Go and wash your hands this minute! Fred, leave those things and stay out with Jamie, I can not have you around when there is so much to do!" and with an impatient gesture she brushed Jamie aside and began sorting the berries as best she could.

Fred started toward her with the elastics, saying:

"But, mamma, you haven't looked yet;"

"Well, you see my hands are full, and I can tell you just as well without looking."

"You always tell me to do as I am told," pouted Fred as he reluctantly departed.

Mrs. Hayden was ashamed and yet reckless with discouragement, and scarcely noticed the anxious pedlar, who stood waiting for some decisive word from her.

"I have no use for the supporters at present," she said at last. But as she noticed the look of despair slowly settling on the woman's face, she added, "but, if you are in such distress, I will let you leave two pairs. Take the 50 cents lying there on the shelf," pointing to the place. The woman was very grateful and soon went away with a brighter face.

For a long time after she was gone, her picture remained in Mrs. Hayden's remorseful memory, though she put it away as much as possible and went on with her work. Jamie and Fred had quarreled several times, but even in peace, the fires of war were likely to burst out afresh, for it was always so when she felt this way.

As Mrs. Hayden sat in her own room that evening, reviewing the events of the day, which seemed the culmination of many days, it seemed that the Marion Hayden who had been so happy these last few months, improving in health and strength and ability to live a more useful life, and the Marion Hayden who had so miserably disgraced herself to-day, were far apart—in fact irretrievably separated. Where, indeed, had gone her power of self-control, her wisdom and tact in governing the children? Why had she so harshly told Fred to run away from her when the dear child was only showing his affection according to his own nature? Such an active, impulsive yet loving child must be wisely dealt with, and she had often realized that with Fred, love must be the governing power, not force. To give way as she had to-day would be to lose her influence over him, not only because of repulsing the child himself, but because his critical eyes noticed every weakness and failure in her, to live up to her own code of morals laid down for him to follow.

Her accusing conscience asked why she had not questioned and tried to help that poor woman who, with all her ignorance, was doing the best she could, to solve life's problem.

After all, what had she, Marion Hayden, to offer the world while she had not yet conquered herself?

Oh, the bitterness of regret, the repining for wasted moments and lost opportunities! but here she was in her old groove of thought. Could she not try the new way, now that she so sorely needed it?

She would try; she would begin to look on the other side of these questions. She would regain her footing in spite of her humiliating downfall, although there might still be a lingering sense of shame over her defeat.

Later, her husband came home. He tossed her a paper saying: "Here is something that will clear you up. Read it aloud. I just glanced over it, and found it very good." He threw himself upon the sofa, waiting for her to begin. Mechanically she took up the paper.

"'The Ubiquity of Good;' is this the article?"

"Yes, there are several just as strong as that one."

"Oh, I see; yes—I can hardly wait to read aloud," she exclaimed, running her eyes over the pages, instantly imbibing the spirit of the writer. She began with an awakening interest which increased till she was fairly electrified with delight.

Her husband looked at her in astonishment although it had much the same effect on him. "I thought you needed something like that;" he said, sitting bolt upright and looking at her. "You see, Marion, if you could only be as enthusiastic all the time as that woman is, you could do the works that she does, and be as positive too."

"I know it, and if I understood as well as she does, it would be different, but I know so little comparatively. Oh, if I could take lessons of the teacher she had—just listen, she says: 'I have just had the privilege of going through a class in metaphysics taught by one who is conceded to be the best teacher in the world,' but," continued Mrs. Hayden, "I've looked all over the paper and can't find the name of the teacher; queer, isn't it? Mayn't I subscribe for this paper, John, and I will ask her who this teacher is, when I send the subscription?"

"Well, yes, I think if you could get the benefit from every number you have from that, it would be money well invested," replied Mr. Hayden. In fact he was as much interested in this subject as she, and desired her to "go to the bottom of it," as he expressed it.

That night she retired with a new hope. If others could learn and demonstrate and keep, why could not she?



CHAPTER X.

"Oh, thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create, know this of a truth, the thing thou seekest is already with thee, 'here or nowhere,' couldst thou only see!"—Carlyle.

The very next morning the letter was written and the money sent for the new paper.

Mrs. Reade came over on one of her bird-like errands, and of course, must hear something of the great help that had come so unexpectedly.

"How fortunate it came just now, for I have noticed several weeks you have been losing courage, and as for myself, I don't seem to know what to do in any case any more," she exclaimed, after hearing a few extracts read from the paper. "Now you will find out who the teacher is and—"

"I shall go away to take lessons as soon as possible," interrupted Mrs. Hayden. "Yes, I must go," she continued, "and see what there is in it. I have already experienced too much physically and spiritually to be able to give it up."

"Indeed, you have certainly had as much of a proof as one could wish. If I could only do as much as you have, I should feel that it would be better to go without many other things rather than this."

Mrs. Reade forgot that she had been able to keep little May in perfect health; that she herself had ceased worrying over trifles and learned to make the best of everything. To her, the change had been so gradual that she hardly knew in what it consisted. In the meetings held by the few who were interested she had, unconsciously almost, given many glimpses of her private efforts and success, which showed how faithfully she used what light she had.

"I wonder what Mrs. Grant would say to this," she resumed, after looking over the paper. "I think she ought to take this paper, too. Of course, I expect to read yours," with an arch smile.

"As you certainly may, I will let you have this number this afternoon; I can't spare it yet. You can't imagine the abyss I fell into yesterday. It seemed that I had not only lost the ability to hold myself up, but the self respect that would help to regain my footing."

"'It is always darkest before the dawn', they say," quoted Mrs. Reade, merrily, "and now the dawn of our delivery is at hand, we shall know what to do before the twilight comes again. But I came after your jelly mold and must not stand here all day talking about things so utterly unlike—well, good-bye! I can hardly tear myself away when I talk with you," and she ran out with a gay smile.

Nearly every week these last few months Mrs. Hayden, Mrs. Reade, Mrs. Grant and occasionally one or two others had met to read and talk on the all-absorbing topic and gain confidence and strength by an exchange of ideas and experiences; but they knew not how to draw from the fountain of knowledge itself, and while they had learned much and gained much, there was a lack which, in the moment of trial, they knew not how to supply.

In a few days Mrs. Hayden received the coveted information as to the identity of the wonderful teacher, and that she was to teach several classes in Marlow, only two hundred miles away, which quite set her on fire with impatience to go at once.

But circumstances were not propitious. There were many details to be arranged, much to be considered. What should be done with the children? Could she afford it? What could she wear? In her eagerness she could have overcome every obstacle within an hour, but her better judgment told her to be patient a little longer, a decision her husband quite approved.

In the meantime she tried to live more faithfully up to the light she had received, but the first flush of faith that had brought forth the works, seemed gone, and she knew not how to bring it back. Not that she was not just as earnest, not that she had lost a whit of her faith or interest, but the fire of impulse, unclouded by doubt, had disappeared. She thought about it every leisure moment, but concluded at last to let go such intense effort that must necessarily be blind, and live more in the "holy carelessness of the eternal Now," as George MacDonald so beautifully expressed it in his book she was reading.

In one respect she fared as comparatively few women do, who hunger after spiritual things; she had her husband's full sympathy and co-operation. Afterward, when she had seen more of the world and knew more about other women's lives, she realized the value of it, realized that without it she would have starved before she could have feasted. Oh, the sweet influence of a sympathy that unites and harmonizes two natures, no matter how opposite in character and tendencies.



CHAPTER XI.

"As out of a dream, paths impossible to sense and every day show plain and sudden transit into distant places, so from your shut souls widens out an entrance way into God's everlasting joy!"

—A. D. T. Whitney.

At last the time came. She was to go for the last class in Marlow. The last problem as to what to be done while she was gone had been solved. The children were to be under the kind care of Anna, who agreed to do her best in looking after them.

Mrs. Hayden's wardrobe had received the necessary additions, the question of affording was not asked again, for it was like asking if she could afford food or clothing.

It meant a great deal to her, going out in the world to get this wonderful knowledge. It was a new way of seeking the kingdom of heaven, and it must surely teach the right knock that would open the door. The little light that had already come to her proved that, for never before in all her years of hungry longing had she been so well fed, so visibly nourished. Surely her soul could not be mistaken in thus dictating her quest.

"It seems too good to be true, John, that there is a way and that I am going to find it," she said a few days before she went away.

"I am very glad, dear Marion, for your sake, that you are so happy in this. It certainly is a beautiful religion as far as we can understand it."

"Yes, the very thing we tried so hard to find during all those years of darkness, and I have begun to actually feel thankful for our misfortunes, because it seems they have led us into this knowledge. What would we have known or cared for Miss Greening, had we been living in the mansion on the hill? Or what would we have believed, even if we had read something about Christian Healing?"

"It is hard to tell, but if you are content I am, wifie, although I should like the old home again."

Like many others he was able to appreciate the material good things, but knew not that the material are but emblems or symbols of the spiritual.

"We shall possess something far better than all the palaces and kingdoms of the earth, if we get this 'pearl of great price.' I know now what it means for the rich to hardly enter the kingdom of heaven. It is because they are so satisfied in their rich possessions they feel they have everything worth having and need nothing more. That very indifference and apathy keeps them from getting spiritual treasures."

"How true that is, Marion," said her husband, stroking his mustache thoughtfully.

Just then the door bell rang and the girl presently ushered Grace and Kate into the room.

"Why, how do you do? I am more than glad to see you," said Mrs. Hayden, warmly grasping a hand in each of hers.

"It is such a lovely evening that we felt we should like a walk, and as we generally gravitate toward your house, here we are," said Kate, laying aside her hat.

"Do you know I am going to Marlow to take the Christian Healing lessons?" asked Mrs. Hayden, with a bright smile, as they were cosily seated for their chat.

"Are you, really? I am so glad, Mrs. Hayden," said Grace. "When are you going?"

"Monday, on the afternoon train, and I shall be gone three weeks. It seems a long time now, but I hope it will be so profitable and pleasant that it will not seem long while it is passing."

Kate looked very grave. Finally she said: "Well, Mrs. Hayden, I am sorry you are going."

"Why?" exclaimed Mrs. Hayden.

"Why?" echoed Grace, and the host looked the interrogation he did not verbally express.

"Because I am seriously afraid it is wrong. Just a few days ago I had a talk with the minister, and he is very decided in his denunciation of it, saying it is plainly contrary to the teachings of the Bible, and I have been reading an article this afternoon that is very convincing in its arguments against it. No, Grace, you needn't shake your head. I have been cowardly and lazy long enough about my religion, now I shall stand up for what I think is right, and I love Mrs. Hayden too well not to warn her of what I believe to be a most dangerous heresy."

She had evidently nerved herself to say this, but her voice trembled with earnestness, and when she finished there were tears in her eyes.

"I thank you, dear Kate, for your sincere regard, and appreciate your motive most deeply, but of course, that can not change my mind now," said Mrs. Hayden, much touched.

"That, of course, is for you to decide, but I have suddenly realized my religious responsibility as never before, and have been earnestly considering this matter. At first it seemed all right and very beautiful, but I believe it is only the work of the devil to get people into his net of wickedness."

Grace was too astonished for speech; now she understood what Kate had meant by her disinclination to talk on the subject since that night they had heard Miss Greening. Now her thoughtful spells were explained, as well as her eager desire to come here to-night.

"I do not see why the ministers should oppose it as they do," said Mr. Hayden, after a short silence.

"If you look back over the history you will find they opposed giving freedom to the slaves; they opposed the temperance movement until it was forced upon them. Many of them now oppose woman's suffrage, though their audiences are often composed almost entirely of women. It seems a great mystery why they should oppose any of these good and necessary reforms, but I think it is because they are only mortal men, and have many mortal faults and a great deal of mortal ignorance," said Grace, recovering her tongue at last.

"It seems to me if everybody would read the words of Jesus and follow his example they would never be harsh, or critical, or uncharitable, and above all, they would not judge anybody or anything without a righteous reason. The whole burden of his teaching is expressed in the sentence: 'Little children, love one another,'" was Mrs. Hayden's opinion. Kate looked at her gratefully.

"We would have a very different world if every one followed that law, and we have never heard a better one. The only difficulty is to know how to follow it," added Mr. Hayden.

"We must know the whole truth if we would be free from all error, and we can only get truth by earnestly seeking for it, is my firm conviction," said his wife.

"If the truth makes us free, certainly we ought to search for it, and as we get it we can not be moved from our position, for by the nature of truth it is forever the same. Imagine anybody telling me two times two are five. If they argued and talked forever they could not prove it, for a lie can never be proved true."

"That's capital reasoning, Grace," exclaimed Mr. Hayden, admiringly.

"Then if these ministers are in the right," she continued, "why should they need to be so active and emphatic and malevolent, as they sometimes are, in their denunciation of what they call a lie, because if it is a lie, won't it prove itself? And if their position is assured, and the truth must necessarily be assuring, since that is the essence and nature of it, if their position is assured, why is there any need of such resistance? Jesus plainly taught the non-resistance of evil, if I read my Bible correctly this morning. I have been studying religion somewhat, too, the last few weeks," she concluded, glancing at Kate rather apologetically.

"It would be well if we studied it a great deal more earnestly than we have before," said Kate, flushing warmly.

"Well, Kate, isn't one of our best ways a thorough investigation of it?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then I intend to look into Christian Healing at my earliest opportunity, and see what there is in it. If there is nothing, it can not hurt me. If there is something, it will prove itself, and I shall gladly accept the help it gives," and Grace rested on her oars.

"I have a suggestion to make," said Mr. Hayden, "and that is that Mrs. Hayden write us a report of each day's lecture, and you can come down and we will read them together, or I can hand them to you after I have finished them."

"Capital!" exclaimed Grace. "Will you do that, Mrs. Hayden?"

"I will do the best I can, and be delighted. It will help me as well as you; but they will be nothing but ordinary letters, for I would have neither the time nor the ability to write lectures." Then she added, turning to Kate, "You will read them, too, won't you, dear? for I do want you to understand that this is the true Christ-religion, and as Grace says, if it is true it will prove itself."

"I do not object to reading your letters; indeed shall be glad of the privilege," replied Kate, with a deprecatory gesture.

"You must be sure and give us the practical part, so we can learn by practice as well as theory," said Mr. Hayden, playfully.

"Yes, and I will promise to be a faithful student, if that will be any inducement," added Grace; "and I know Kathie will, too; won't you?"

"Don't say any more, please. You all know I want what is true and good," she replied, huskily.

* * * * *

It seemed hard to say the good-byes, even to go on this little trip. Mrs. Hayden looked at the children and home through blinding tears as her husband helped her into the carriage. They did not say much as they drove away to the depot, and both were deeply moved. There seemed such a momentous meaning in this journey.

"You must promise to write often, John?"

"Yes, dear Marion, and don't worry about us."

"I shall write every day, John, and I do want you to grow with me. Read the lessons please, very carefully."

"Yes; good-bye."

A kiss, and he was off. She waved her hand as the train started.

Like a leaf on the rippling river, gently touching the stones or mosses in passing, but hurrying on to a broader outlook and a straighter pathway, we float in the varying current of life, now dallying with youth's pleasures and playfully touching the problems before us, then sent adrift by a deep desire to know, we go out on a voyage of discovery, and be the winds rough or gentle, we go on till harbored at last.

Nor would we leave thee, gentle Truth. May thy voice guide and strengthen and cheer; thy sweet knowledge be the lamp to our path; thy words of wisdom our armor and shield, and all the sweet enchantment of thy presence be with us forevermore.



CHAPTER XII.

"Our weary years of wandering o'er, We greet with joy this radiant shore; The promised land of liberty, The dawn of freedom's morn we see. O promised land, we enter in, With 'peace on earth, good will to men,' The 'Golden age' now comes again, And breaking every bond and chain; While every sect, and race and clime, Shall equal share in this glad time."

—E. B. Harbert.

Mrs. Hayden immediately sent a few words to her husband informing him of her safe arrival, but said nothing concerning her plans until later in the week, she wrote:

"I attended a reception last night that gave me a good idea of the great interest manifested in this new subject by people from all parts of the country as well as this great city. Many who have been attending a convention of truth seekers this week were there, and I met, among others, Mrs. Harmon. She is lovely, with such a sweet pleasant face and clear mild eyes. I do not wonder Miss Greening was charmed with her. We had quite a chat about mental healing. She gave me an interesting account of how she came into the work and what she is doing. I also met many others. One thing noticeable about these people that seems peculiarly characteristic, was the bright, happy faces so full of repose and trustfulness contrasted with the dull, sluggish care-worn expression of people in general. It really rests and cheers wonderfully to look upon countenances that carry the gospel of healing with them.

"After a pleasant social time, Mrs. Pearl, in whose honor the reception was given, was called upon for an address, the substance of which is about as follows:

"It is an unexpected pleasure as well as privilege to thus meet face to face so large a body of people who are working or desire to work for the uplifting and healing of humanity by this new yet old Christ-method.

"While there are so many thousands of the world's best workers engaged in lifting the burdens of sickness, sorrow and sin, there are none who accomplish more marvelous or speedy results than Christian healers. Indeed they have already demonstrated this philosophy to be a most powerful means of reclaiming the sinful and adjusting social relations as well as healing the sick.

"It already promises a better method of dealing with intemperance than that of any other class of reformers. Why? Not because earnest, devoted women do not give time, labor and hearts' blood to the temperance cause; not because wise, honest men are not doing their best with tongue and pen, in legislative halls and political conventions, but because neither women nor men have learned the true principle of moral reform.

"The wise mother knows that the best way to keep her child from mischief is not to talk about his temptation but cause him to forget it by thinking of other and better things. She encourages him to do better by recognizing his higher nature and showing him a better way. She 'overcomes the evil with the good.' Thus his moral nature gradually gains ascendency over the lower. This, and this only is the true reform; but the same mother fails to carry out the same principle with larger children. She must learn that the same management which corrects and improves the child will correct and improve the sinner, for a sinner is only a child of larger growth.

"Thus far, the world has been most attracted to the healing of bodily ills, and all discomforts of the flesh, but the material demand is only a forerunner or symbol of the spiritual, and the signs of the times are even now ready for the keenest readers. People are beginning to enquire if this wonderful power for healing the body can not be used for the healing of vicious minds, the curing of depraved appetites.

"Since religious teachings and ethical lectures seem to be so inadequate to meet the crying need, why not try this new method which claims to be a panacea for all ills, ask the moral philosophers.

"'The world moves slowly,' it is said, but the world awakes slowly, it should be. We are ministering angels to one another, in our process of awakening. If we have not enough realization of truth to keep ourselves awake, some one comes along and wakes us up, by telling us more and we, in turn, wake some slumbering neighbor.

"Invisible and silent are the workings of Truth, and none may judge what best teaches the law. None may know what has given this or that insight into a broader truth, but all at once some one has the new light, and hastens to impart the knowledge.

"All effort for truth points to one end—Truth. All reforms, all religions point to a higher standard of living, a clearer realization of the highest and best, a broader vision of truth, a breaking away from the false and a bringing about of the true.

"Mankind is conservative and must needs consider many things in many ways. Old opinions are not easily relinquished because they are 'bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh' and not till we awake to spiritual as well as intellectual knowledge, shall we realize that we are free—free to listen, learn and live.

"As in the history of every reform, we find opposition and persecution facing the Christian healers, but as time goes on, even the unbelieving and conservative shall be brought to a knowledge of the truth. Many things unaccepted and unestablished to-day shall be proverbial platitudes of to-morrow.

"We who have a clearer vision of the better way, who are demonstrating our position with such wondrous signs, must realize more and more the importance of the first and only law—the law of love. Judge not. Be a unit in Truth.

"We come together as many, but should go away as one. We now have thousands of Christian healers all over the country who are striving as never before to live a higher life, to work for humanity according to the Master's teachings, and it becomes us, as true disciples of such a leader to so live that we shall see the fulfillment of that blessed promise: 'Greater works than I, shall ye do.'

"Let us recognize the use and beauty of unity. Let us be as one, and then, like the brave and faithful Joshua, we shall be able to break down the walls of any Jericho.

"Christ followers, truth seekers, friends! Make use of the golden privileges of to-day, use every moment for the furtherance of good, make every silent thought or uttered word a stream of influence that shall cause the desert to blossom like the rose. Send your thoughts out to the grand reformers, the women workers and the men workers, the tired mothers and the anxious fathers, the faithful teachers and the innocent children. Sow the seed diligently, no matter what the soil. Never mind the coldness, the indifference, the slighting disparagements, for bye-and-bye will come the harvest. Do in all ways as you would be done by.

'Thou must be true thyself if thou the truth wouldst teach, Thy soul must overflow with truth, the true results to reach.'"



CHAPTER XIII.

"One Holy Church of God appears Through every age and race, Unwasted by the lapse of years, Unchanged by changing place.

"From oldest time, on farthest shores, Beneath the pine or palm, One unseen Presence she adores, With silence or with psalm.

"Her priests are all God's faithful sons, To serve the world raised up, The pure in heart her baptized ones, Love, her communion cup.

"The Truth is her prophetic gift, The soul her sacred page; And feet on mercy's errand swift Do make her pilgrimage."

—Longfellow.

The next day Mr. Hayden, with great interest, read the letter containing the first lecture, which was given the day after the reception reported in the last chapter. Pertaining to the lesson he read:

"How I wished you were with me yesterday, and could see the fifty eager faces as they gathered in the class room and waited for Mrs. Pearl.

"Some sorrowful and careworn, some filled with the marks of suffering and pain, some hopeless and despairing, some careless and gay, some merely curious, but all expectant and interested.

"It matters not with what varying motives a mass of people meet together, there is a common chord of sympathy, which, if rightly touched, will cause the many to think and feel as one, and herein lies the secret of a teacher's power. Mrs. Pearl has this faculty of gathering and holding the thoughts of her audience, and I could not help noting the calm and satisfied expression as they went out after the lecture.

"The first lesson is about The True Foundation, and while much of it is what we have known and believed, it is stated in a new and interesting way. I will give it, as nearly as possible, in her own words:

"It is necessary to have a common premise in order to sustain a harmonious argument, and the first thing is to find a base or foundation from which and upon which to build. Our doctrine is to be established by sound reasoning and scientific argument, and we must go back to the beginning and learn something about the First Cause of all things.

"In ancient times students devoted themselves to the study of pure reasoning, and they found that by putting themselves in harmony with First Cause, they attained a power, by certain lines of thought and through the speaking of words, to perform wondrous works, healing the sick, having dominion over all creation.

"They discovered the different results of speaking words of science, which are words of truth, and words of error or words contrary to reason. Right, true words brought forth right and true conditions to everyone around them, but deviation from this line of reason, would bring discord and trouble and undesirable conditions. These wise thinkers declared Mind to be the First Cause of all creation, and announced the study of Mind and the words and ways of Mind, to be the profoundest theme that could engage the attention of man.

"We find this philosophy and these conclusions corroborated by the Bible, which we shall consider and prove to contain revelations of changeless, eternal truth.

"Truth is universal, and whatever is true in one part of the universe must be true in all parts. That which has been understood and conceded to be true in all ages and climes is what we call universal truth.

"Because the first chapter of Genesis, then, agrees in all essential particulars with the accounts of other nations and among other peoples we consider it universal truth.

"Because it is so beautiful, logical and spiritual, we revere it; because our own inner consciousness of truth agrees with its statements, we concede it to be as accurate and reasonable an account of Creation as we have, and we are therefore willing to use it as the basis of our argument.

"We read: 'In the beginning God created,' but a more literal and spiritual rendering would make the pivotal statement, 'God creates.' Now we know there can be no beginning or end to Omnipotence, hence there must be a continuous creating, and thus the term 'beginning' could only refer to the manifestation of what had already been created. How was the creation manifested? By the Word. 'God said, let there be light, and it was so,' and by every 'God said,' was manifested the thing which He said was to be.

"The word God is an abbreviation of the Anglo-Saxon of Good, the two words in that language being identical. To many this will be an aid to realizing the omnipresence God, and add to the reverential sense of that personal nearness which makes the Deity a Father and an ever-loving Friend.

"God is not person as to form or personal limitations, yet personal in the sense of Presence and intelligent communication with intelligent beings. Jesus said truly, 'No man hath seen God at any time, because the eye of the flesh cannot perceive spirit.' Through the quality or influence of Good, Intelligence, Love and all we may name as soulful, we perceive and feel God's presence.

"Thus in the spiritual sense, the 'pure in heart may see God.' We can, too, perceive the quality of God in Good, as we perceive the attributes of the sun in its light. As the light of the sun warms the dark earth, making it fruitful, so the divine Light (Intelligence), shining upon our earth nature, makes it fruitful because of the presence of its Creator.

"Some there are who call this ever-present Intelligence or Good the living Principle. As the Infinite, it wears all phases and adapts itself to every conception of the Finite, so in the sense of omnipresence and unchangeableness it might from this point of view be called Principle. This is the cold, mathematical conception of God as Law, which without Love would be incomplete. We must, therefore, know the duality of God if we are to understand either Law or Love. Some things can only be known by intuition, without the aid of the senses, and because of an inherent idea in our consciousness. For instance, every nation worships Deity in some way. Since we cannot know God through the senses, by which we gain knowledge of visible things, how can we know there is a God?

"As Paul says: 'Likewise the spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God;' and what better answer could we have?

"Spirit, according to Webster, is: 'Life or living substance considered independent of corporeal existence—vital essence, force, or energy as distinct from matter.' God is the vital essence, God is spirit, and God is substance—'the real or existing essence,' 'the divine essence or being.'

"God, therefore, is the Divine Power that creates and sustains all things—the All-Power, the All-Intelligence, the All-Mind, the All-Love, the All-Substance, the All-Harmony, the All-Life, the All-Good, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent. This is the one Creator, 'one God who is Father of all, over all, and in all.'

"Though we cannot see this God or Good Principle, we can apprehend it through the signs or manifestations that we see. As we look about, we everywhere see the signs of life—not Life itself, but the signs of it—that tell of the presence of God or Good. Now Life is Good in and for itself.

"We often see the divinest love manifested through every deed of love, every heroic act of higher living, every grand sacrifice of self-comfort, pleasure, even life itself. Jesus says: 'Greater love can no man have than to lay down his life for his friend.' Such love is a manifestation of the one, only Love, which is God—Good omnipresent.

"Every glimpse of Truth which the whole world seeks to know and wherever found, is a realization of the omnipresent Truth, which is God.

"Intelligence, in its highest or lowest form, is but a manifestation of God as Intelligence; for whence comes our intelligence if not from the great and only Intelligence, which is ever flowing to us and through us, which is ever being generated in us, whenever and wherever we are willing to let it manifest itself.

"Emerson says: 'There is one mind common to all individual men. Every man is an inlet to the same and to all of the same. He that is once admitted to the right of reason is made a free man of the whole estate. * * * * Who hath access to this universal mind is a party to all that is or can be done, for this is the only and sovereign agent.'

"So we reason about health and strength and justice, or any of the divine qualities, which we may claim as a part of our inheritance, because they are inherent in the All, in which 'we live, are moved, and have our being.'

"Having something of an understanding as to the nature of this divine Creator, we can, to some extent, apprehend that the essence of all things manifesting it, and manifested by it, must be good like itself, must be of the same quality as itself; as light emanating from light, must be of the same essence and quality as that from which it emanates. God, like light, is always the same, and cannot send forth or create anything opposite Himself.

"The nature of God embraces every good quality of masculine and feminine character, as also the impersonal life Principle. It is therefore proper to use the masculine, feminine or neuter pronoun when referring to Deity. As different phases of the one Love, we see manifested, the strong, all-protecting, intelligent father-love, the tender, restful, patient mother-love, the innocent, confiding, trustful child-love, each complete in the whole, which can be recognized by all or one of these attributes.

"The great Mind of which the ancient philosophers tell us and which Emerson so plainly realized, is the the Origin and Force of all Creation, the Mind for which we have found so many synonyms and so many offices, the Great Invisible of which all visible things are but signs or symbols.

"There is but one great Mind, one great Thinker. All thoughts of this Mind, which is Infinite Goodness, must be infinitely good, and man is the crown and apex of the wonderful creation—is made in the image and likeness of God.

"If we concede the Creator, God, to be omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent, the only Power there is, perfect, unchangeable and eternal, we must necessarily concede that all which He creates is good, and must remain so because everything connected with, emanating from, or similar to Him is, and must be like Him in quality and essence.

"The true man is spiritual, perfect like his Father, and can only be subject to perfect conditions. If we continually and persistently recognize the true creation which is invisible, we make manifest the perfect conditions in the sign of the true, which is the visible. In doing this, we are, in the most essential sense, acknowledging God, worshiping the one Deity.

"Because we have so long recognized the other powers we have become idolators, and must now turn back to the only true God. 'If thou return to the almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.... For thou shalt have thy delight in the almighty and shalt lift up thy face unto God.'

"We have become filled with false beliefs, because we have judged according to appearances, and hence drawn false conclusions. How can we know spiritual truth without spiritual knowledge? How can we have spiritual knowledge without spiritual perception; how can we have spiritual perception without recognizing Spirit, Substance, God, as the supreme Essence back of all visible forms?

"This is the fundamental principle of healing—this recognition of spiritual being and spiritual law. Grasping only the surface meaning of this grand truth, we recognize and admire the mental power which produces cures, hence it is frequently called mind-cure, because, through the agency of mind, the cure is wrought, as we say, water-cure or sun-cure for the same reason; but as we proceed in the study, we will go beyond an intellectual to a spiritual perception of what is meant by met-a-physical, which pertains not only to a science of mental phenomena, but the science of real being, and has to do with the spiritual or real self of man.

"Now John, if you don't understand, just wait and study, for really we must study these statements, without prejudice, too, for that is the only way, and of course we cannot expect to understand at once. The great essential is to keep uppermost the desire for truth, but I need not tell you that, for what an earnest truth-seeker you are, nobody knows better than myself.

"This is the best I can do toward giving the first lesson, but you must think well upon it and get a good foundation laid for what is to come next. This science is to be developed rather than learned.

"I want to put in every moment I can get for study, so must close. Hand this to Kate and Grace. I do hope they will be interested.

"Tell me all about your progress, and the precious little ones—how are they?

"Your loving MARION."



CHAPTER XIV.

"How shall I know if I do choose the right?"—Shakespeare.

"Truth is one, And in all lands beneath the sun, Whoso hath eyes to see may see The tokens of its unity."

—Whittier.

"That is a very clear statement," said Mr. Hayden, as he handed the letter to Grace when she called the next evening.

"Do you think we can get much of an idea from it?"

"O yes, indeed we can; but you take it home and read it with Kate."

Grace went straight home with her prize for she was more interested than she cared to admit just yet, and Kate was still reluctant and fearful about the possible wrong.

Grace had awakened in the night, just after Mrs. Hayden had gone and found her crying. "What is the matter, Katie?" she asked.

"Oh, Grace, I am so worried about this Healing, and I am afraid I did wrong to even promise Mrs. Hayden I would read her letters," sobbed the poor child.

"Why, Katie dear, we could never know anything if we did not look into it and use the reason God has given us. Surely you are not afraid to examine into what claims to be such wonderful truth. You do not necessarily accept by examining it, and I am glad we can have the privilege of reading what Mrs. Hayden says, for she has such a fair, unprejudiced mind, and will give us the matter just as nearly right as she can; then we can judge for ourselves."

She reached over and drew Kate into her arms, but the sobbing did not cease at once. Grace was naturally kind-hearted, and respected people's feelings. To-night she was very gentle, as Kate gratefully realized.

"Come Kate, put away your fears. There's nothing can change the truth you have, and if it isn't truth, the sooner you change your mind the better. What makes you feel so, all at once? Has some one said anything?"

"Yes, Mr. Narrow gave me such a talking to when I asked him if it was wrong; for someway, I got so troubled that I did not know what else to do."

"Well, what of it; you don't see anything wrong in it yourself, do you?"

"N—o, not exactly."

"What are you afraid of, then?"

"I—I don't know," with a hysterical sob. She was ashamed to admit that she was half afraid of eternal punishment, something she had been in vague terror of all her life. It had been impressed upon her so vividly, and now she was suffering from a keenly reproachful conscience, because for so long a time she had been indifferent and neglectful of her religious duties.

Grace finally persuaded her it would be all right to give the matter a fair investigation. Then she went to sleep, comforted, for half her misery had been caused by her indecision and wavering.

When they read the letter together, Grace was delighted and Kate not much less so, though she demurred a little about some things.

"What beautiful ideas of God! It seems plainer than anything I ever heard. To say God is Principle, not person, makes it easier to apprehend His omnipresence," exclaimed Grace, laying down the letter.

"Y-e-s, in one sense," slowly assented Kate, "but in the Bible He is spoken of as Person, or at least as having personal attributes, and you know they frequently refer to what He says and how He talked with Abraham."

"O, I think that is figurative, if it is true at all. How can a being with a definite or outlined form be everywhere at the same time?"

"But surely, you believe His thoughts can be everywhere, and that is what is meant by this omnipresence," said Kate, earnestly.

"Then do you think of Him as sitting on a great golden throne, listening to the petitions of men below, and able to hear and to grant or refuse at the same moment every prayer that is sent to Him by the millions of His children on earth?"

"'God's ways are not our ways, and with Him all things are possible.'"

"But is it not much easier to say this is Principle, which is everywhere waiting for our recognition of its presence to become manifested to us?" pursued Grace.

"Yes, I don't know but it is."

"Now Kate, I am truly in earnest and mean to study this very earnestly. I know very little about the Bible, because it has been a sealed book to me every time I ever tried to read it, but during these three weeks that Mrs. Hayden is gone, I am going to put away my preconceived opinions as far as possible and see if I can learn something, and now let us get the Bible and see what it says on these questions. You have a concordance. Let us look up the word omnipresence and read some of the passages in which it occurs."

Kate was well pleased, not only to make the Bible the foundation of this study, but to find Grace so changed, and so ready to look into sacred things. "Perhaps she will be converted," she thought, and from that moment she, too, resolved to look fairly into Christian Healing. She brought the concordance and found there was no reference to omnipresence.

"We'll look for present or presence," suggested Grace. She glanced rapidly down the columns and found a reference to Ps. cxxxix. and turned to that.

"Yes, in the seventh verse it says: 'Whither shall I go from thy spirit or whither shall I flee from thy presence?' and here is a marginal reference to Jer. xxiii: 24. 'Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth?' Now it seems to me that carries the idea of a personal Being," said Kate.

"Well, let us look up the references to God," suggested Grace again. "Here's one in Deut. xxxii: 4. 'He is the rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgment; a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.' Yes, there He is compared to a rock. Of course that is symbolical, but find another. Isn't there one that tells of Him as spirit?"

"Yes, 'God is spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth,' that is in John iv: 24, and in the first chapter of John it reads: 'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.'"

"Ah! there we have it very plain; word is not flesh and blood or person. Doesn't it say in the letter that God is Intelligence, which is only another way to express the same thing?"

"Yes, and I remember when Jesus prayed for His disciples, He said: 'Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth;' and some place in the Bible it speaks of God as truth," said Kate, quite willing to give all the corroborative testimony she could.

"Truth can only be considered as principle, so we have that statement confirmed by the Bible, and that would agree with what Pythagoras wrote," said Grace, quoting: "'There is one Universal Soul diffused through all things, eternal, invisible, unchangeable; in essence like truth, in substance resembling light; ... to be comprehended only by the mind.' Now it is comparatively easy to see manifestations of the Good. By the way, I think it a volume of explanation in itself to say Good instead of God, don't you?"

"Well, yes, it does seem peculiarly expressive, but the old way sounds a little better yet."

"Of course," pursued Grace, "it doesn't matter so much what we call this omnipresent power, as whether we understand it. All humanity worship the same Deity in the sense of recognizing an omnipotent Power. I once read something comparing the ideas of God among the different peoples, and it was really wonderful how similar they were, excepting, of course, each nation had a different name for Deity. I believe I have that book now somewhere;" and Grace went to look for it, but presently returned without finding it. "Well, it made such a vivid impression on me that I remember a few of the principal statements. One was that the Hindoos teach of an omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent Being called Brehm who is the creator of all things, from whom all things emanate and by whom all things are sustained. The Persians, Egyptians, Greeks held similar ideas. The Persians called God, Ormuzd, the Greeks, Orpheus, the Egyptians, Osiris."

"I did not know the Pagans held such ideas of Deity. I always thought they believed in many gods," said Kate.

"They did, but as Edward Everett Hale, says: 'The innumerable Gods of the Pantheon are but manifestations of the One Being,' that is, they had special names for the different manifestations of God, as He appeared to them in the sun, the air, the earth, and also the different qualities of human character. They all alike believed in a Supreme Being, and made statements almost synonymous with many in the Bible. That is what may be called universal truth, and if this philosophy is what is consistent with fundamental truth, it will be just what I have been wishing to find." Grace leaned back meditatively, adding, "Mythology used to have a peculiar charm for me, and many of those old stories are coming back with a new significance."

"'There is but one foundation, other, can no man lay,'" quoted Kate, earnestly.

"Yes, my dear," and Grace rose and paced back and forth in deep abstraction. "There is but one Truth and we can not establish a falsity. But I want to carry my reflections a little further concerning this universal worship. To my mind, the power inherent in everything and recognized in some way by every individual is the supreme, perfect Power in different phases of manifestation. The man who trusts an unseen power to bring the seed he plants to full fruition, is believing in the true God, though he may not know it.

"The whole world lives on faith from one year to another, for there is not enough food produced in one season to last more than one year, and if men did not know every succeeding season would provide, they would be desperate indeed. What is this but believing in a supreme Power? Even materialists admit that the great First Cause is beyond matter. Herbert Spencer speaks of it as the 'Universal Reality, without beginning and without end.'"

"All people reverence and admire the sentiments of love and justice and truth and mercy. Let us agree they come from the same cause and are everywhere present, and we shall come nearer to worshiping God in spirit and in truth, than we ever have before. Now let's have your opinion, Queen Katherine," concluded Grace, looking at Kate with a playful smile as she finished her long dissertation.

"There is nothing I can add to that, and it seems a very good conclusion to our first lesson. I did not know you had thought so much about religious things, Grace."

"I always had a fondness for looking on the forbidden side of things, and I am afraid I was more curious than religious, but I am rather glad if there is an explanation to these things that have always puzzled me."



CHAPTER XV.

"A lie can not exist—it only appears. Truth is consciousness consistent with itself in every relation; error is consciousness inconsistent with itself in some relation."—Judge H. P. Biddle.

"And what an end lies before us! To have a consciousness of our own ideal being flashed through us from the thought of God! Surely, for this may well give way all our paltry self-consciousness, our self-admiration and self-worships! Surely, to know what He thinks about us will pale out of our souls all our thoughts about ourselves!"—George MacDonald.

MARLOW, September ——.

"Dear John: I hope you are as anxiously awaiting this letter as I awaited the second lecture. It was splendid, so comprehensive, and above all, so practical. It throws light on many puzzling points, and I am delighted so far with what seems so plain and true.

"Some of the members of the class seemed quite shocked at some of the statements, but it is not strange that they should seem startling to one who has never thought on the subject, for indeed, I should think it would take a good while to get used to reasoning that is directly opposite the world's first conclusions; still we are looking for results that are quite contrary to what the world looks for, so we can afford to collide with its opinions. When Mrs. Pearl came into the class room, all turned to look at her and every ear was ready to listen.

"In yesterday's lesson we made a statement of God as the only Mind of the universe, the Great Reality beside whom there is absolutely nothing in existence; but as we look around at the scenes of suffering and poverty and ignorance, we are mightily tempted to disbelieve such a statement.

"'Talk of omnipotent Light in the midst of midnight darkness!' you exclaim. Ah, but you are to remember we are talking of the real creation; the invisible and unapparent instead of the visible and apparent; the changeless and eternal instead of the evanescent and decaying.

"If God is the only Reality, His creation is the only real creation. The word real is applied to that which actually exists, which forever is, not to that which seems or appears; therefore, in speaking of the real we mean the changeless and invisible.

"If God is the only Mind, His are the only real thoughts, and thoughts are invisible to the eye, but discernible to the mind or consciousness.

"If God is everywhere, there is no possible place or space in the universe where God is not; hence He is all there is. One of our modern prophets wisely wrote: 'Has not a deeper meditation taught certain of every clime and age that the Where and the When so mysteriously inseparable from all our thoughts, are but superficial adhesions to thought; that the Seer may discern them where they mount up out of the celestial Everywhere and Forever. Have not all nations conceived their God as omnipresent and eternal, as existing in a universal Here, an everlasting Now?

"'Think well, thou too wilt find that space is but a mode of our human sense, so likewise Time. There is no space and no time. We are—we know not what; light sparkles floating in the ether of Deity. So this so solid seeming world, were, after all, but an air-image—our me the only reality.'

"This me is the spiritual self, the individual idea of God, His image and likeness.

"What then, about this body, which is not spiritual, you ask? What about the material universe?

"Wait a moment. Think of the premise. As God the invisible is the changeless, what is the variable, fleeting, visible unreality? The real is everlasting, the unreal is transitory. The real is called Spirit, the unreal matter.

"What is Spirit? The underlying omnipresent substance that we call God.

"What is matter? The counterfeit, shadow, emblem, showing that Spirit exists or is.

"We read in a very ancient Hindoo Scripture: 'Those who have understanding, whose thought is pure, see the entire universe as the picture of Thy wisdom;' and the thoughtful Carlyle said: 'All visible things are emblems.... Matter represents some idea and bodies it forth.'

"These thoughts are in perfect accord with the principles laid down in our premise, hence we find that as we believe matter, believe the body to be the real creation, we are believing a falsity. This is the idol we are worshiping instead of the true and only God. The grand visible universe in which we see so many beauties, so many charms, is but the mighty object lesson before us by which we may learn of the infinite, invisible All. As Theodore Parker said: 'The universe itself is a great autograph of the Almighty.'

"The characters used in mathematics do not constitute the science but merely represent to the senses the invisible ideas of the principle of mathematics. The visible does not constitute the invisible, but may carry its messages as we learn to read its poetic and mystic pages. The visible speaks to the mortal nature, but the invisible beyond and above, speaks to the immortal nature.

"Since we find matter to be so totally opposite the real, there is no other name for it than as the unreal, and the unreal being a counterfeit of the real, must be a lie, as the nature of a lie is to make false claims, pretending they are true.

"Matter is a counterfeit because it is not genuine or of God, because it is changeable and fleeting, because being limited to a visible form, it must have finite limitations and can merely give finite conceptions.

"Taking it as a sign of something infinite, we learn of the infinite. All the students, teachers, learned men and women of the world have added to the world's spiritual ideas revealed by their study of the finite as well as their intuitive knowledge of the infinite. Charles Kingsley gives us a hint of how to learn: 'Do not study matter for its own sake but as the countenance of God. Try to extract every line of beauty, every association, every moral reflection, every inexpressible feeling from it.'

"Our ideas of matter must then be entirely changed, and we must learn to look beyond the seeming, to the true. We have believed in the reality of matter and material environment because of reasoning from the false basis that man is material or that he is a mixture of material and spiritual. To believe that the flesh and blood of our sister or brother is their real self, is to believe God capable of creating something utterly unlike himself (John iii, James i.) which may suffer, sin and die, and if He is all perfection, He can not know imperfection. If He is all spirit, He can not know or be matter. Keep before your mind the perfection, omnipotence, omnipresence of Spirit, God or Principle, and you will see more and more clearly the inconsistency of anything opposite Him emanating from Him.

"Believing in matter as a reality, we have endowed it with all the power of the real, have ascribed to it life, substance and intelligence, when it possesses neither.

"Where is the life when the body dies? If life were inherent in the physical body, could it ever cease to be? God the eternal life principle can not cease to be. The life manifested through the body is the life which is God and can not be affected by the decay or disappearance of the body.

"The invisible essence of life is also the true substance, the reliable and changeless something, upon which we may forever depend. We use the word substance in its etymological sense (from sub, under and stare, to stand), and since Spirit or Mind is the reality that underlies every material or sensible object, there is no substance to the object itself.

"Plato taught that 'ideas, are the only real things.' Ideas are expressions of thoughts, and thoughts are expressions of mind, and this reasoning brings us back to God as Mind and Mind as Cause. Admitting Mind or Spirit to be the life and substance back of or expressing itself through the body, we may easily see that intelligence can not exist apart from Mind, and hence can not belong to matter.

"That the mind or intelligence is seated in the gray convolutions of the brain, is held by the materialists, and yet Dr. Laycock affirms 'that matter is fundamentally nothing more than that which is the seat of motion to ends, of which mind is the source and cause.' Professor Huxley crowns the statement by saying, 'That which perceives or knows is mind or spirit, and therefore, that knowledge which the senses give us, is, after all, a knowledge of spiritual phenomena.' Professor Faraday held to the immateriality of physical objects.

"In the language of Jesus the Christ, we are told, 'Spirit is all, the flesh profiteth nothing;' thus from all classes of conscientious but confessedly diverse thinkers, we find statements of universal truth, and this is what the hungry, starving world is seeking with more earnestness than ever before.

"Since there is no life, substance or intelligence in matter, it will be comparatively easy to prove that there can be no sensation, for where there is no life in the body, there can be no feeling. Even the physiologists tell us mind must know pain before it can be located in the body. We state therefore a theorem which is practically demonstrated; there is no sensation in matter.

"As we visit penitentiaries, reform schools and hospitals, as we read and hear the startling statements of press and pulpit, we grow disconsolate and heavy-hearted over the awful power and reality of evil, forgetting again that He who is perfect goodness can not behold evil or in any way permit its existence, any more than heat can permit cold, or light can permit darkness.

"Granting the omnipotence of Good, where is there any room for its opposite?

"If there is but one Power, and that omnipotent and perfect, there can be no evil in reality; hence we are dealing with another lie when we judge according to appearances, which Jesus said we should not do. It is really disloyalty to God to impute to Him all misery, pain, sickness and suffering caused by the evil and ignorance of man. We are told: 'Let your soul be subject to the higher powers, for there is no power but of God.' Because we have not done so, but have believed in every claim power, we suffer from 'evils which our own misdeeds have wrought,' as Milton wrote, or, in the words of Emerson, 'we miscreate our own evils.'

"Jeremiah said: 'It is your sins that have withholden the good things from you.'

"According to Webster, 'sin is a transgression of the law of God.' There is but one law—the perfect and unchangeable Truth. Any deviation from Truth is error, and error is sin. In proportion as we deviate from the strictly true, then, we sin. Because we admit things to be true which are not true, we admit, then commit sin, and hence suffer for sin. 'Know ye not that to whomsoever ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are, whether of sin unto death or obedience unto righteousness,' wrote Paul. We first think wrong. Sin is of the mind, not of the body.

"To acknowledge the reality of sin or evil is a transgression of the law, because, according to our established premise, it cannot be true.

"Through a misconception of our relation to God, and a belief in the power of evil, we are obliged to admit the existence of sin, sickness, and death, neither of which can be true in the presence of God, as the only Reality, in which or in whom are all things that eternally are, not that temporarily appear.

"We have believed in a mind or power of thought opposite and contrary to God, when in reality there can be nothing opposite or contrary to eternal Mind. We have believed ourselves endowed with a mind separate from God, and ourselves subject to temptation from some cause not Good. We have believed in minds, when there is but one Mind.

"This false force, this false mind, is variously called the evil or carnal mind, the mind of the flesh, the old man, the serpent, the devil, the adversary. It is simply the opposite or contradictory of the Good, the god of evil.

"Beside every true or positive statement there is a false or negative claim, and in so far as we are ignorant of the true, we are in bondage to the false. To believe the claims of error is to be bound; to know the reality of truth is to be free. To believe in a mind or power separate or opposite from God, is to be subject to any suppositions or beliefs formulated by that mind or negative thought.

"That we are spiritually perfect is true, but it is necessary for us to prove that fact by 'working out our own salvation,' by manifesting the positive or God quality of thought through our life and actions, and the only way to be filled with good thought is to recognize and acknowledge the Good only as the real.

"This error, tempter or devil, was spoken of by Jesus as having no truth, as being a liar, and the father or cause of lies (John viii: 44). Instead of devil (which is only another name for evil or the slanderer), or 'carnal mind', as Paul called it, we find mortal thought a better term for the expression of this power of thinking.

"'Why have we this power of thinking wrong thoughts when there is but one good and only Mind?' you ask. As God's idea, in the image and likeness of Mind that thinks, we have the power of recognition, the power to be or not to be, the possibility to become sons of God. We have the power to distinguish, to judge, to know; we have the spirit that ever leads us on and on in truth.

"But here is where we fail. In our ignorance or limited state of unfoldment, we have mistaken the symbol for that which is symbolized matter is the symbol, as also the body, we have judged according to appearances instead of righteous or strictly true judgment; we have yielded to a belief in sin, hence are servants of sin.

"The conception of matter as having power, is based on appearances, and because we have delegated to it a power, have acknowledged it as an entity, separate from the eternal mind, it has enslaved us.

"Reasoning in this way we find everywhere two opposites or contradictories to be recognized and judged, as the visible and the invisible, the material and the spiritual, the false and the true, the mortal and the immortal, the unreal and the real, the negative and the positive.

"Judging of the true by that which is changeless and eternal, we can decide at once on those qualities or attributes belonging to or describing what is true, and by knowing what is true, we can readily distinguish it from the erroneous.

"We have considered these great errors or negatives which the world has believed and still believes in, and they must be dealt with according to scientific law.

"Through all the ages of Christianity have been heard the words of the Master: 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me;' but who has understood it? The letter of the law has indeed been observed by many earnest followers of Jesus to a degree not considered necessary in this age, but what has it demonstrated? What has come of all the fasting and renunciation, the cruel asceticism and severe discipline?

"Do these conscientious disciples give an unmistakable proof of their discipleship by showing the signs that must follow the true believer? How can they when they talk of sin, sickness and death; of things contradictory to the nature, power and presence of God?

"Then they must not have understood the spiritual import of these words of Jesus to 'deny himself.' Deny means, according to Webster, 'to contradict; to declare not to be true; to disclaim connection with; to refuse to acknowledge; to disown.' Jesus meant deny the mortal thought, the false self; refuse to acknowledge it as having any authority; and it is only as the Christ follower proves this to be the true mode of denying self, that he can speak with authority as to the scientific method of dealing with all the errors to which mortal thought gives birth.

"No other way has brought the desired result; hence we confidently assert that all these mistakes agreed to and participated in by mankind must be emphatically, persistently, scientifically denied.

"Systematically and repeatedly we say:

"1. There is no life, substance or intelligence in matter.

"2. There is no sensation or causation in matter.

"3. There is no reality in matter.

"4. There is no reality in sin, sickness or death.

"5. There is no reality in evil.

"6. There is no reality in mortal thought.

"This is denying the self recognized by the world. This is the life that must be laid down, that must be sacrificed, lost.

"Humanity has proven its subjection to these errors. Now, by its faithful rejection of them, let it prove them lies, for the force of a lie is always annulled by rejection. This proves the law referred to by Jesus when he made a denial of self the first duty of his disciples.

"In denying, it is necessary to say the words over and over again; it may be mechanically at first, but say them over, several hours at a time, if possible.

"More is accomplished by concentration than anybody is aware, and the repetition of the words helps to concentrate the thought. First repeat the whole list of denials, then select one on which to spend most of the time for several days. The denial of matter, for instance, makes us more spiritually minded.

"When denying, try to realize there is no space, but that anywhere you send your thought it will go, and as you think or say the words, you will be denying error for the world as well as for yourself, as every thought is world-wide in its influence, and helps to free or bind humanity, even as it is truth or error.

"To deny is to put out of mind, to erase, as it were, the false beliefs. Be earnest, be faithful, and you will have an abundant reward.

"This, dear John, is the substance of the lecture as nearly as I can give it. After Mrs. Pearl had finished the lesson, she requested the class to sit in silence a few moments and together hold the thought, 'There is no reality in matter;' after which we were dismissed with this benediction: 'May we realize that God is, that spirit is the only reality.'

"The lessons are always opened by silent prayer, which I have forgotten to mention before.

"Please, dear husband, observe these rules and study every assertion as carefully as though you were in the class. You, and Grace, and Kate, can accomplish a great deal together; but by all means don't pass judgment till you have carefully examined all the evidence.

"Tell me all about the children. Such details will greatly comfort me, for I must confess that to-night I am the least bit homesick.

"Good night,

"Your loving MARION."



CHAPTER XVI.

"God is commanding us off, every hour of our lives, toward things eternal, there to find our good, and build our rest. Sometimes He does it by taking us out of the world, and sometimes by taking the world out of us."—H. Bushnell.

"The second letter has come," said Grace the moment Kate entered the room, after her day's lessons were over.

"Has it? Let us hurry and get the tea over so we can study it."

"Don't you want to hear it first? I haven't looked at it because I wanted to wait for you, but I can't wait that long," cried Grace, pulling it out of her painting-apron pocket.

"All right, then read away while I start the fire."

"No; come and sit down like a good child, you can't half listen when your mind is filled with stoves and tea-pots."

Kate smiled, and drawing her chair up beside Grace, she listened to the reading, while her face alternately brightened or darkened.

"Well, it sounds very beautiful and very plausible, but I can't see how any one can say there is no evil when the world is full of it, and to say there is no sin, sickness or death! why, that is blasphemous! I know the Bible won't corroborate that," she said, in a horrified voice, at the conclusion of the letter.

"Hold on, we must not be so fast; there are good reasons for every statement, and she says it is necessary to say these denials over and over. It is harder for me to believe there is no matter, but if there is a way to prove there is none, then I will submit. But first let us see what the Bible says," said the more moderate Grace.

She got the Bible and concordance, but could find no reference to matter as pertaining to physical creation, but she found under the word "flesh" an allusion to John i: 12-13, and iii: 6. "The first reads," began Grace, "'But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' That evidently refers to a creation possible to all, but where is the authority for saying 'there is no matter'?"

She pondered a moment, then referred to the letter—"Oh, I see! She says, 'no reality in matter,' and then goes on to explain about the real. Yes, now I see. Do you understand it, Kate?"

"I can understand that the body is not the real," replied Kate, thoughtfully, "for Jesus said 'the spirit is all, the flesh profiteth nothing,' but—"

"That's so. Why didn't we think of that before? Besides, it was taught by the ancient philosophers as much as 4,000 years ago, that matter has no reality. Yes, its plain to see how it can be, theoretically, but where they can demonstrate it practically, puzzles me. Here is a reference; let us see if that will tell us something."

She read Heb. xi: 3: "'Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.'"

"That seems quite conclusive," said Kate.

"Yes, it does. Now we will consider your problem," replied Grace, running her finger down the references, "and see if we can find anything in that. Let us bear in mind," she continued, "she does not say there is no appearance, but no reality in evil. Among the first references, I find one to the twenty-third Psalm: 'I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.' How plain that is! Of course there can be no evil where God is, and God is everywhere. God is Love. In Love there is no evil."

"But just think of the awful crimes that are committed every day, and the wicked people who commit them," demurred Kate, with an incredulous look.

"We haven't got far enough to solve everything; listen to this: 'Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked,'" read Grace.

"That must mean that with the carnal mind we see all things opposite God, and with the mind of the spirit we discern spiritual things; that is in Romans somewhere," exclaimed Kate, with a gleam of understanding in her face.

"What word shall I look for?" asked Grace, intently pursuing her search.

"Mind, I think; shan't I look for it?"

"No; here it is in the eighth chapter and tenth verse: 'The carnal mind is at enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.' That is plain enough. It means that all thoughts opposite God and God's creations are of the animal man, hence at enmity with God, and since there is nothing real but God and His creations, of course there is no reality in them. Now you are satisfied, aren't you, Kate?"

"I suppose I ought to be, for I don't see any other way to understand those passages," she admitted, with a sigh of relief.

"Just one more, and we'll go on to the next denial, which will hit me, I'm afraid," continued Grace.

She turned to Isa. xxxiii: 15-16: "I declare, Kate, here is the essence of the whole lesson," and she read: "'He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly' (according to the true creation), 'he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hand from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.'"

"I really did not know there was such a passage in the Bible, and I don't see why other people haven't found it before," said Kate, quite won over. "But how strange it seems to deny this way."

"Yes, that is the most unreasonable part of it, and yet I think Mrs. Hayden has explained it very clearly. Now what is next?" asked Grace.